Letter to the editor: Maine has new chance to move forward with harm-reduction policies

In 2018 one person lost their life to a drug overdose each day in Maine. One often-overlooked explanation to our overdose crisis is our failure to embrace harm-reduction principles.

Harm reduction is a movement centered on respect and compassion for people who use drugs and uplifts both people who use and have used drugs as experts in developing policies and programs that serve them. Harm reduction seeks to reduce the negative consequences of drug use, including communicable diseases, poverty and death. Harm-reduction programs in Maine are often heavily restricted, including our syringe exchange services.

A recent court ruling in Philadelphia has sparked hope for harm-reduction advocates nationwide. Safe injection sites fight overdose deaths with clean tools for use, immediate access to naloxone and contact between drug users and medical professionals, who can act as a bridge into treatment. Currently, 120 of these sites operate worldwide.

This ruling gives us – people who both love and have lost people who use or used drugs, as well as people who have experienced the pain of the opioid epidemic in our communities – an opportunity to move forward with harm-reduction policies that will make a difference.

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